Thorsten Hohmann is the man to watch as he cruised undefeated in the first-night action of the 20-match, double round robin format of the Accu-Stats Straight Pool Invitational, hosted by Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, September 4-8. Late last night, Hohmann ran 60 and out against fellow countryman Ralf Souquet‘s hard-fought 34. Hohmann then continued his charge in search of high-run bonus monies but came to a screeching halt at 149, as on the break shot his cue ball got buried in the rack. One more point and he would have made a $1,000. With many century-plus runs in his history, the odds are he will earn a bonus before the weekend is out.

The new, 60-points-with-a-twist straight pool formula developed by Accu-Stats’ Pat Fleming had audiences, both in the arena and on the Internet, on the edge of their seats. Every shot counted. Once a player gets to the table, he’s capable of a run-out. At 60, he wins the match. Then he has the opportunity to run to a 100 and secure a $500 bonus prize or $1,000 if he gets to 150. This makes for very aggressive play. Safeties aren’t in the mix, as combatants have their eyes on the big run and the possible bonus money.

Johnny Archer, Souquet, John “Mr. 403” Schmidt, Jose Parica, and Hohmann will play each other twice though, all are motivated by the high-run bonus as they will contribute to a “Player Review” where they narrate their own DVD, in addition to the 10-DVD set the series will generate.

September 4, 7:00 p.m.: The opening match saw Souquet run 60 and out to give Schmidt (15) his first loss. Souquet actually had a high run of 69 but was left short in his attempt to get to the additional bonus money.

September 4, 8:00 p.m.: Hohmann’s first win was over Archer, 60-51.

September 4, 10:00 p.m.: Parica amassed 60 against Schmidt, who mustered only 12.